Of Monsters and Men
by Fourth Horse
Summary: Flashbacks of another world and of another life add some complication to a modern day Lina Inverse when she's running from bounties and her former boss, but hey - who needs guns when you learn how to throw fireballs? Slayers AU with a Once Upon a Time twist.


_Now we're torn, torn, torn apart, there's nothing we can do  
Just let me go, we'll meet again soon_

* * *

New York-style pizza. Large slices slathered in genuine mozzarella cheese, garnished with dried red chili pepper flakes and specks of oregano, and easily folded to allow the oils and grease to pool more manageable. Rumor has it that the minerals present in this particular city's water gave the traditionally hand-tossed doe its _flavor_ , which...

Well, alright, sounded like a bunch of suspiciously not-so-good-for-you chemicals and crap, but the summary of all that food porn was essentially this: it was delicious, and Lina would miss the authenticity of this region's infamous staple food. Or one of them - honestly, there were _plenty_ , do you honestly expect a girl to choose just one? Not happening, thanks.

"Just one slice today?" Four whole words. Four whole _condescending_ words and just like that, the blood in her veins simmered into a slow boil. Xelloss noticed the way her jaw muscles tensed, the irritated scrunch of that button nose. All things that had a habit of happening in his presence, he learned, but that didn't deter him from sliding into the bench next to midget-sized redhead. "Impressive, Miss Lina. I assumed you'd consume what you could, with the time you have left."

 _With what time I have left-_ "Huh," she chuckled without mirth, not resisting the roll of her eyes. He knew, then. Probably because he had this _thing_ where he shamelessly stalked her (because _that's_ not creepy, the fucker), but it may have been the couple years of them working together closely. Closely and _intimately_ , the latter description a thing of the past. "Is this the part where you try and stop me? Unless you screwed me over and blabbed me out to your grandpops, which wouldn't surprise me that much."

Neither of them looked at each other. It was best that way - to any outsider it might have looked like two friends (maybe even a couple, they looked comfortable around each other) admiring the scenery and observing the people of Central Park. Breezy autumn weather, a palette of red-orange hues coloring the trees in transition. Pumpkin spice caffeinated _somethings_ filled practically everyone's cups.

A minute passed. Lina's teeth continued to rip into her food, and Xelloss sardonically smiled. "Shabranigdo doesn't need to know everything. And your guess of me informing him of what you've got planned is almost hurtful. But considering you've got an entire vehicle with crates of glocks and AK-47's piled up to the very brim, I had to make sure the paperwork filed looked legitimate and less forged."

There was a bit of grease she felt on the corner of her mouth. He fought the instinct wipe it with his thumb - she'd never been the _tidiest_ of eaters - but he had resisted. Whatever flutter of feelings that hid beneath the surface were his best kept secrets; keeping a collected and even stoic facade was his specialty.

Lina crossed her knees, fleece-lined leggings and the sweater tunic keeping the outside chill at bay. "One minute you try to make me hate you, the next you're making sure my plan of escape pans out with as less flaws as possible." Auburn brows knitted. That's when she finally turned her head to look at him - her previous handler, the man trained to kill with the most tranquil of smiles. Pale-skinned, pitch-black hair and steely grey eyes. _Xelloss_. "You can still come with me, you know. It's not too-"

"You know I can't," he interjected. His tone insinuated it wasn't up for discussion but he also knew how incredibly stubborn she was, so he continued. "It's a family business, Inverse. My loyalties are with them."

"And yet you're helping me get out of it. Good job on the loyalties, buddy."

"You'd be a bigger headache in the long run." Xelloss rose to his feet, hands shoved into his pockets. "Make no mistake, you're an excellent business woman. Cut throat, driven, your instincts of negotiation are the best we've got and your eye with numbers is...well, truly impeccable. But greed only drives you so far, and there are things your moral compass won't tolerate anymore. You don't belong in the business of _monsters_." That smile only widened, and it made Lina's gut coil. "You've a window of opportunity. Take it."

"Before he gives you the order to kill me," Lina tacked on. It wasn't often that her gluttonous appetite would waive, but let's say the topic of discussion had blatantly murdered it. She set it aside, hands dusted from crumbs, and her eyes tightened at him, mouth quirked into a smirk. "That's what you're holding back from me, isn't it."

He laughed insincerely. "Ah. I really hate how clever you are sometimes."

 _And you'd do it, wouldn't you?_ A question that begged an answer, but instead she caught her tongue between her teeth and shrugged.

Nothing else was said. Xelloss left. Several days later, someone had rigged Shabranigdo's main office in upstate New York to literally _blow_ \- rumor has it was an impressive show of fire and brimstone, discord and chaos. Stories spread how it was Lina Inverse's way of saying _fuck you, I'm out_ to her employer. It was a much better statement than a 'two weeks notice' letter slipped onto his desk, and in what was technically a firearm trafficking business (of the illegal sort, was there any other kind?), it wasn't the kind of employment you could quit from and move on without _consequence_.

In a large vehicle filled to the brim with glocks an AK-47s, she left the state.


End file.
